Some Excitement! (Day 072)

Lake Santa Barbara, Pompano Beach, FL MM 1056.8
Distance Traveled: 44.6 Hours Underway: 9.2 Average Speed: 4.8

Weather: Hey we finally got a HOT day! The temp was in the low 80’s and all of the windows in the bubble were open. We had a mix of clouds and sun; e & SE wind in the 10 - 15 range.

Comment: SUNSHINE was underway by 0700, as were Canvasback Too and Maribelle. We motored out of the north Lake Worth anchorage, headed south and looking forward to passing through 16 bascule bridges. Perhaps looking forward to the bridges is a bit of over understatement as there were a few VHF conversations about running off shore. The catamaran Hairball reported that it was lumpy outside and the current was foul. She wasn’t making good time at all. This edition of the Flock was slowed by the bridges. It seems that one must gun the engines to make the scheduled bridges. This not only causes strain on the engines, but on the crew as well. It’s better if one just takes the time to view the sights and pass through the bridges when they appear, rather than racing against the schedule. For some reason, we seemed to be racing the schedule. This caused today’s trip in the “canyon” to be more stressful than any we have taken. We won’t make that mistake again. Tomorrow we’ll take the thirteen bridges as they come, with no hurry at all mates.

We had other stresses on the day as well. It all started when I observed (out loud) that since changing the spark plugs and secondary fuel filter on the port engine, way back in the Solomons Islands, the motors have been running great! Within minutes, the port engine started to cut out. It would lose power and then start again. It did this on three occasions. Hmm, would could be the problem? Anna Marie opened the port motor compartment and saw nothing amiss, but I heard an unusual metallic sound. I shut the engine down, and while waiting for one of the bridges, I checked to see that the oil level was low. I quickly added some, changed the oil filter and had the engine back and running within minutes. It ran fine for the rest of the day and had a full compliment of oil when I check it at the end of the day.

It also happened that the starboard engine, which has been no problem at all, began to stall while at idle. It happened intermittently and wasn’t serious as it always started and kept running when revved up. I suspect the secondary fuel filter might be the problem and perhaps the spark plugs. Since the lifting mechanism has malfunctioned, it will be next to impossible to change the spark plugs. I’ll do that when we get to Marathon. In the meantime, I changed the fuel filter and trust that all will be fine tomorrow.

That’s wasn’t the end to the problems, however. In my hast to add oil and replaced the filter in the port engine, I neglected to lock the motor down. When one bridge captain called to say the bridge was going up and the boats should straighten themselves out, I put the starboard engine in forward gear and the port engine in reverse, goosing both to about 3,000 rpm’s. The port engine, being in reverse and not locked down, kicked up with a thud and stopped running. Of course, the lifting line wrapped around the prop. Running under one engine, I was able to free the lifting line and get the engine locked down. It started and ran beautifully for the rest of the day. I’ll need to check to see that the prop hasn’t been damaged, but, there was no vibration and everything seemed in order. We’ll check it out in more detail later.

It must be noted that the start of these problems occurred within a few miles of the first problem we had with “Fodder’s Cat.” That problem led to a transmission failure and the replacement of the old diesel. I believe today’s problems were relatively minor and have been adequately addressed. I am concerned about the low oil in that neither engine leaks or burns oil. We can’t imagine what happened to the oil. We know it was full when recently checked in Vero Beach.

The day’s travel ended when we set the hook in Lake Santa Barbara. Capt. Dave guided Canvasback Too to our port side where he rafted for the evening. Maribelle peeled off in Hillsboro to spend the evening at a cousin’s dock.

On the plus side, we saw about one dozen manatees today. They were all over the waterway and we suppose they are making their way south. The water temperature is 67 degrees. Another small pluss is that we attended to the depth sounder, which had stopped working on two or three occasions. Yesterday, it didn't work at all. I suspected that the resivour in which the depth sounder sits, was low on fluid. This sounded is not "through the hull" as I didn't want any other holes put on the boat. This unit shoots "through the hull." Sure enough, I added fluid and presto, the depth sounder is working again!

Tomorrow, we’ll be in Miami. We might pass through and tie up in Boca Chita Key. We’ve never been there before. The alternative is No Name Harbor, but that is very crowded on the weekends and we don’t expect that there’d be any room since we’ll be arriving late in the afternoon.

Arial view of our anchorage at Lake Santa Barbara.